Radiosurgery is a non-surgical radiation treatment that can deliver targeted radiation to small lesions in the brain. For brain metastases, radiation is typically given after a patient has healed from surgery to remove a tumor in the brain. The purpose of this study is to determine whether giving highly focused radiation to a brain tumor (a procedure called radiosurgery) before brain surgery for cancer metastases (surgery to remove the tumor) will help keep brain tissue healthy while controlling disease and possibly eliminating the need to return for radiation after the surgery. Researchers also aim to find the best radiation dose to deliver to the lesion to maximize its effectiveness while limiting the side effects. In this study, the timing of radiosurgery (pre-operative) and the dosing to determine the safest dose is considered experimental.

Researchers test an experimental drug or treatment in a small group of people (20-80), to evaluate its safety and identify side effects. Often these trials are not disease specific and may include more than one type of cancer.

The experimental drug or treatment is administered to a larger group of people (100-300) to determine its effectiveness and to further evaluate its safety.

The experimental drug or treatment is administered to larger groups of people (1,000-3,000) to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it with standard or equivalent treatment, and collect information that will allow the experimental drug or treatment to be used safely.